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In 2020, during the midst of COVID-19 pandemic, Black Lives Matter, the murder of George Floyd and a surge of Confederate statue removals, discussions about monuments became frequent in teacher David Felsen's New York City high school history class.
The discussions struck up a series of questions—like who was the first Black American to have a monument in NYC, the total number of Black monuments in the city, or how many Black women have statues dedicated to them. But Felsen came up with nothing. "I couldn't find easy answers to my questions," he said. "I started thinking more and more about how Black Americans are represented, how they are represented nationwide, but specifically here in New York City."
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So he set out to find more answers, and, over the course of two years, he visited and did extensive research on 30 monuments to Black Americans throughout the city. His new book, New York City Monuments of Black Americans: A History and Guide, is a result of this work.
In the book, Felsen reveals the stories behind each monument that has endured throughout the years. Photographs and essays tell the story of each person honored, along with how the statue came to be. For example, Ralph Ellison is honored not only in Harlem's Ralph Ellison Plaza, but a statue that resides there is also dedicated to Ellison's novel Invisible Man. After his death, his Beaumont neighbor, Anne Dobson, launched a campaign to get the statue made.
Felsen believes monuments are important. In fact, he starts his book off with an introduction that emphasizes this: "I believe that monuments matter." They matter most for Black Americans, he writes, because the way they are portrayed in statues, literature, Hollywood and advertising has a loaded and complex past—influencing how others see them and how they see themselves. "Monuments tell us about the values of a city at a point in time, who we choose to honor and what ideas we choose to honor," Felsen said. "These figures and their stories are important. But in a moment when we have a federal government that's trying to sanitize the past, they're even more important."
Monuments tell us about the values of a city at a point in time—who we choose to honor and what ideas we choose to honor
In the introduction to the guide, Felsen answers the questions that first inspired his research: the first appearance of a Black person in a NYC monument came in the Civil War Soldiers' Monument in Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery in 1876—but this was a nameless figure, with no dedication or story.
It wasn't until 1945 that Booker T. Washington became the first identifiable Black American honored in a monument. Much later, in 2007, Harriet Tubman became the first Black woman to be honored in a monument by the city. In fact, there are just seven statues of women—of any race—in NYC. This includes the most recent Central Park Women's Rights Pioneers Monument by Meredith Bergman, honoring the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment. Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth and Elizabeth Cady Stanton are featured in the piece—which garnered its own controversy due Anthony's and Stanton's racist past.
In the front of the book, you can view a map of NYC, along with numbered marks indicating where each monument discussed in the book is located. Felsen encourages readers to follow the map and along with his guide, learn more about these monuments and the Black Americans the city has chosen to honor.
For example, in Manhattan, there's a Martin Luther King Jr. memorial at Esplanade Gardens in Harlem and visit a tribute to Althea Gibson at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens. In The Bronx, a monument to George Washington Carver is on view at Bronx Community College, and there's a monument to Jackie Robinson in front of the Brooklyn Cyclones Station. Go find them—and all of the memorials to Black Americans—with help from Felsen's book.